Air doorcheck



L.. C. NORTON F eb. 23, 1933.

AIR DOORCHECK Filed Feb. 5, 1951 Patented Feb. 28, 1933 UNITI-:DN STAT es? rafrlNroIsFICEll LEWIS. c. NORTON, oF PASADENA, cALIEoR-nrnfnssmnoaTo NORTON-'namen conf ris-NY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A coRIoRATIoN oFILLINoIs l,

AIR *DOORCHECK Applieaeifmy mea February The invention relates to door checks and has reference more particularlyto the type of doorchecks employing spring means f for closingfthe ydoor andwherein the medium for 5 checking the,.closing action of 4the door comprises air..y f

The inventionhcontelnplates adoor c heck adaptedito be located on the .lintel or horizontal/strip, above the doorata point adjacent doorgaandl which will be operated by leverage meansf.rfastened to the,door, the leverage means, Joirthey purposes of allowing the door to swing, havingy a sliding movement thereon. Suchtype of checkingimeans is primarily l5 adapted for association with doorsswinging in a single `directionandwclosing against a door j ambor whatare known as single acting doors.l y

An` objectl of. the invention` is to provide aldoor-checking device of the type described,

which Willoperiatefto close `the door by spring action'and to vcheck the closing action by means` of 'animproved checking device,` Vall the-parts. being so ,connected together and with 2li the doorasto ,give thedesired closing and checking eiect.` *n

Anotherl object is to: provide a door check whichwwill employ a leverage construction adapted tomtransmitithe swingingv action of ,3.0 the doorrto thespringmeans inthe form of rotary motionand to thefchecking mechanism inthe forni of: reciprocating,fmotionvand which will be .secured to thedoor in .such a manner-as `to have sliding movement thereon. A yet further` object of the invention is Vto provide an improved door. checking. VIIlQClianism Whichwill employ air'ventingmeans for providing lthe checking action for the closing ofthe door and vwhich `will ;be .so ,constructed 4 0 that the closing may beadjusted and regulated fasdesired. y

A, yet further object is to provide a novel type. ospring ,actuated mechanis1n which willbperate to closethe door againstthe ac.- tionlof the checking means, the springmecha nism being adjustableand adaptedto exert ltension uniformly. ,during the closing movementof the door. A lstillfurther object istoprovidef an iml'proved door check adapted especially for cer- 5, 11931. sriai No. 513,611, r

tain classes of doors which willbe highly eHiJ: cient-in operation, comparatively siniple'in constructiom practical and cheap to' ina-nufacture, and easy to install andone which will impart tothe door an improved movement'in "f closing: and checking operations. 'y i With these and various other. vobiec'tsjin View, the "invention 'may consist ofv certain novel features of construction and operation, -Y as will be more fully described particju-y larly pointed Vout in thc speciiieati'onadraw? ing and claims appendcdhereto,` i In the drawing, which illustrates an emf` b odiment of the device and wherein like reif-ey i ere-ncev characters are usedto designate like parts; y E 1 Figure 1 isa perspective viewjshowing the` door check of the present invention as 'applied to thedoor hinab in 'actual use; i 'e l -Figure 2 is a plan view of--thedeviccwith the door. in closed positi.` n,srorne of theparts being 'shown'. in cross section; l i

igure 3 is a sectional view taken )along 4 line Sffof Figure 2 and looking in the di"L rectionjofthe arrows; v i l j j Figure 4 is a'rdetail sectional View showing i one end ,ofV Ihefche` king mechanism as` provided withI air'ventingm'eans; and y Figure 5 'a detailview showingr thelcap member provided with, semi-circular "openlngsu i, Referring to the drawingthe conventional type of d oor` 10 is shownhingingly supported asat 11 frorna door j amb i YSecuredto the upper Portion Lof thedOir ediafh't the ,location Seletdfor po'siishij's'fh'e Closing and checking' mechanism is fav guide member :corniprising arod 13 .supported in position Aupon the doorby end clips 14.` Adaptedtoislide upon'the rod 13 when thedooris opening ,go andv closingis laI sliding,finember15' which is y Vpositioned onthefrod prior to the'fastening of the same upon theY door. The slidingblock '15 is adapted to have pivotally secured togit 95 any actuatingarin 16, the outer end ofwhich is thrcadedas 4at 17 to Vconnect, the arm with a yoke member designated its.' entirety by 18.',v

1 Thechecking,mechanism proper comprises a cylinder 2()l hav-ingthreaded upon its V100 Y are connected at` `plate 25 hand end, end cap 21 provided with an elongated aperture 22. The opposite or left hand end of the cylinder, as viewed in Figure 2, has alsorthreaded to it an end cap 23 which, for allowing the cylinder to be firmly secured to the door jamb is provided with openings for the passage of screws 24. A base plate 25 is adapted to be similarly fastened to the lintel or horizontal strip above the door and is secured to the end cap 23 by any suitable means so that the members form a rigid right angle securinor device. In assemblingthe device it is preferable to locate the end cap 23 in the position desired and fasten the same to the.y door jamb by the screws 24. The cylinder 20 can then be secured to the cap by reasonY of its threaded end as described. It is thus seen that the members 24 and 25 provide a 'rigid' support to which the cylinder 20 is firmly secured. Y y j Located within the cylinder so as to have loose fitting engagement therein is a piston 27 -provided with integrally space dv apart ears 28 to which is pivotally secured as at 29 a piston rod 30. The outery end of the piston rod is also pivotally secured as at 31 to the yoke member 18. This member comprises a.,.plurality of side strips 32 and 33 which y each end by a circular portion 34. The yoke is mounted for pivotal movement upon a depending sleeve 35 which is provided atene end with a ratchet wheel 36. The sleeve 35 isv mounted upon the base y by means of a bolt member 37. Located within the yoke is an elongated spring 38 composed of. series of convolutions, the ,Y sprmg at one end being secured tothe Vyoke andthe other end being secured to the sleeve as at 40. and sleeve to have rotating movements upon the securing bolt 37, the rotating movementsA lof the sleeve being adapted to vary-the tension exerted by the spring,l thus to wind the spring, it is only necessary to rotate the sleeve Y clockwise motionwill be imparted to the arm flwhich will impart rotating movement to vthevyoke 18, the movement of the yoke being inturn imparted through means of the pistonrod 30 to the piston 27 in the form of reciprocating motion. Opposing this lmotion of the piston in the right hand direction is the coil spring 38 which as described is operatively associated with the yoke 18. rThe spring therefore has stored in it sufficient energy during the opening of the door to exert pressure upon the arm 16 to cause the closing ofthe door to immediately take place.

For checking the closing movement as desired the piston 27 isprovidedwith alstud 45 into which` is threaded a cap portion 46 'having' a depending annular flange 47. A,

'Y pending fiange,

This construction allows the vyoke.

under pressure to come into contact with the leather washer so as to vforce thesame against the sides of the cylinder the cap portion 46 is provided with openings 51 in its periphery as shown in Figure 5. This arrangement of the cap portion being lprovided with a denot only serves to. secure the leather washer upon the piston, but reduces the Ldead air space when the piston is in its extreme left `hand position yas the airis ycon'- fined substantially between the portions of the washer 49 and the flange 47. The leather washer is kept soft and pliableby treating the same with any suitable oil so that under operating conditions'the washer will yield to the vacuum` created in the front of the piston upon its rearward motion thereof and allow the air to go freely past the piston and cup. The split circular ring 50around the inside of the flange 49 of the leather washer prevents thesame from setting and'tends to normally keep the flange against the sides of the cylinder. I

The air venting means'clearly shown in Figure 4 is located on the lower side of the ond cap 23 and comprises a depending portion 52 provided 53 which may be restricted in size to allow exhausting of the air into the atmosphere by adjustment ofthe regulating screw 54. The venting mechanism isv accordingly located on the lowerside of the door check so as j to be readily accessible from the floor, thus allowing convenient regulation when desired.

Upon movement of the piston 27 tothe rightas the door is opened air will pass between the piston and the cylinderwall by reason of the4 loose fitting engagement of the former andH he4 'pliable condition of the leather washer 48'. With the door in open position` airwill therefore be trapped Within the cylinder 20jbetween y the end wall 23. Air. will also be drawn throughH the passage 53 duefto the( suction created by the piston, the latter having a loose fit merely to'allowfa free unrestricted move'- the capA portion land ment in the opening of the door. Thespring Y38 will serve to close the door by tension exerted uponthe arm 16 which action will continue at what is known as door closing speed until it is checked by the cushion of air trapped in theleft handr end of the cylinder.

Thiscan be accurately regulated as desired by adjustment of screw 54 soy as'to allow escape of the air into the atmosphere,'thus resulting in a suitable slowing down ofthe closing'action to what is known as checking speed. However, the closing of the door will continue under action of the spring 38 which movement can be controlled and regulated as desired. h

It is thus seen that the present structure insures a sturdy and reliable closing and checking device Which is designed so that it permits convenient installation and one which employs a minimum number of parts thereby reducing the liability of the device in failing to operate efficiently. The use of a plurality of end caps for closing each end of the cylinder allows one to be secured firmly to the jamb and also to be provided With air Venting means While the other forms a closure for the cylinder.

Still another important feature of the present invention results inI increased efficiency of the air checking mechanism due to the particular mounting employed for the leather Washer. The depending flange not only serves to reduce the dead air space but in addition serves to firmly secure the Washer to the piston head.

The construction comprising the coil spring 38 enclosed Within the yoke member 18 provides a compact and readily adjustable spring mechanism and the locating of the same upon the depending stud 37 serves to allow the spring to exert a substantially uniform tension upon the door during the entire closing movement.

It is to be understood that I do not Wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by Way of illustration and not limitation, as various and other forms of the device Will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art Without spring, and connections from the yoke to the piston and from the yoke to a door. v

3. A door check comprising an air checking means including a cylinder for securement to a door jamb and a piston reciprocable in the cylinder, a member depending from the lintel above the door at one end of the cylinder, a sleeve rotatable onthe member andk departing from the spirit of the invention or f the scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. In a door check, a cylinder, a piston disposed in said cylinder, one end of said cylinder having a restricted passage for regulating the escape of air therefrom, a yoke rotatably mounted on a stationary member located outside of and at the end Vof the cylinder opposite the restricted passage, a coil spring associated with the yoke, connections from the yoke to the piston and from the yoke to a door, and means also rotatably mounted on the member for adjusting the tension of said coil spring.

2. In a door check, a cylinder having an end cap, a piston disposed in said cylinder, said end cap having a restricted passage th`erein for regulating the escape of air from the cylinder, a yoke rotatably mounted on a stationary member located outside and at the end of the cylinder opposite the restricted passage, a coil spring Within 'the yoke and secured at one end thereto, a ratchet Wheel rotatable on the member and having the other end of the spring secured thereto, said wheel being rotatable to vary the tension of the 

